Funding and acquisitions in Indian startup this week [04

During the week, 25 Indian startups raised around $138.7 million in funding. These deals include 3 growth-stage deals and 20 early-stage deals while 2 startups kept their transaction details undisclosed.

Last week, 13 early and growth-stage startups cumulatively raised around $362 million in funding.

[Growth-stage deals]

Among the growth-stage deals, 3 startups raised $55.92 million in funding this week. Home financing company Easy Home Finance is on top with $35 million funding. Specializing in B2B Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solutions, MODIFI raised $15 million followed by conversation intelligence platform Mihup with $5.92 million funding.

[Early-stage deals]

Further, 20 early-stage startups secured funding worth $82.78 million during the week. Enterprise integration platform UnifyApps led the list followed by D2C fitness startup BoldFit, deep-tech robotics startup CynLr, dronetech firm Marut Drones, and backpacker hostel chain The Hosteller.

Meanwhile, Anubal Fusion and QubeHealth also raked in funding but did not disclose the transaction details. For more information, visit TheKredible.

[City and segment-wise deals]

In terms of the city-wise number of funding deals, Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR-based startups co-led with 7 deals each followed by Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata.

Segment-wise, Fintech, SaaS, and AI startups are on the top spot with 3 deals each. Deeptech, EV, Healthtech, and SaaS startups followed the list among others.

[Series-wise deals]

During the week, seed and Series A funding deals are at the top, with 7 deals each followed by pre-Series A, pre-seed, and Series B deals.

[Week-on-week funding trend]

On a weekly basis, startup funding shrank 61.7% to $138.7 million as compared to around $362 million raised during the previous week.

The average funding in the last eight weeks stands at around $296.87 million with 27 deals per week.

[Fund launches]

Northern Arc Capital has secured $65 million in debt commitments for its Climate Fund, backed by US DFC and Austria’s OeEB. This fund will focus on climate-related projects and sustainable finance. Meanwhile, Inflexor Ventures has closed the first close of its Rs 350 crore Opportunities Fund, with significant backing from HDFC AMC. This fund will invest in early-stage startups across various sectors.

[Key hirings and departures]

The startup ecosystem witnessed 4 notable hires this week. Truecaller elevated Rishit Jhunjhunwala as the CEO, The Fashion Entrepreneur Fund roped in Deepak Lamba as the CEO, Pepperfry welcomed Shubbam Sharma as the new Chief Growth Officer, and Siddharth Prakash Singh joined Astrotalk as CTO.

The startup ecosystem also witnessed several departures including Paytm Insider CPO and CEO, Shreyas Srinivasan, OLX India’s MD and CEO, Amit Kumar, and Co-founder and Partner of 100X.VC, Shashank Randev.

[Mergers and Acquisitions]

Wealth tech firm Nivesh acquired Wealthzi, Veefin captured majority stakes in GenAI startup Walnut, and BrahmVeda took over astrology platform Vedvaani.

[Share buyback]

Freshworks, a leading SaaS company, authorized a $400 million share buyback program. Head Digital Works, a skill gaming platform, successfully executed its first employee stock option buyback. Additionally, AppsForBharat, the parent company of the devotional app Sri Mandir, announced its maiden ESOP buyback program, enabling 25 employees to monetize a portion of their vested stock options.

[Layoffs]

Two tech companies, 1% Club and Freshworks, have announced layoffs as part of their cost-cutting measures. 1% Club, a personal finance platform, let go of 15% (28) of its workforce due to rapid scaling and redundant expenses. Freshworks, a SaaS company, laid off 13% (660) of its global workforce to streamline operations.

Visit TheKredible to see series-wise deals along with amount breakup, complete details of fund launches, and more insights.

[New launches and partnerships]

▪️ Former partner of Titan Capital, Bipin Shah floats micro VC firm

▪️ Amazon India launches Creator Central for content creators

▪️ OTA platform EaseMyTrip partners with Hyperface

▪️ Google Cloud launches new program to support Indian AI startups

▪️ Karthik Gurumurthy launches activewear startup Ten X You

[Potential Deals]

▪️ Regional OTT app Stage set to raise $15 Mn in new round

[Financial results this week]

▪️ Cashfree posts Rs 643 Cr revenue and Rs 133 Cr loss in FY24

▪️ MPL’s operating cash flow turns positive to Rs 157 Cr in FY24

▪️ Google-funded Cuemath posts flat revenue in FY24, shrinks losses by 43%

▪️ Udaan’s growth stalls mid-flight, losses down 19% in FY24

▪️ DeHaat reports Rs 2,675 Cr gross revenue in FY24; losses shrink 34%

▪️ Yubi revenue grows 47% to Rs 484 Cr in FY24, losses down 22%

▪️ Spinny revenue jumps to Rs 3,725 Cr in FY24; cuts losses by 28%

▪️ Turtlemint insurance biz’s revenue surges 3.2X to Rs 505 Cr in FY24

▪️ Wow Skin revenue declines further in FY24; losses shrink by 24%

▪️ Everest Fleet’s revenue crosses Rs 1,000 Cr in FY24, remains profitable

▪️ WeWork India reports Rs 1,665 Cr revenue in FY24, cuts losses

▪️ Furlenco posts Rs 140 Cr revenue in FY24, finance cost shrink 52%

▪️ SoftBank-backed Juspay revenue spikes 50% to Rs 319 Cr in FY24

▪️ PhysicsWallah revenue jumps 2.6X to Rs 2,015 Cr in FY24, slips into losses

▪️ Freshworks announces Q3 results: Revenue up 7%, loss surged 49% QoQ

▪️ AstroTalk profit zooms 12X to Rs 100 Cr in FY24

▪️ Lenskart reports Rs 5,427 Cr revenue and Rs 10 Cr loss in FY24

▪️ Jar’s revenue soars by 5.6X in FY24, marketing cost dips 57%

▪️ Ola Electric’s revenue declines 26% Q-o-Q to Rs 1,214 Cr, losses up 43%

▪️ Fintech unicorn Perfios PAT surges over 9X to Rs 72 Cr in FY24

[News flash this week]

▪️ ONDC logs record 14 million transactions in October

▪️ FSSAI to meet quick commerce players over food safety concerns

▪️ ED raids Amazon, Flipkart amidst violations of FEMA

▪️ I-T department raids Truecaller offices in India

▪️ BlackBuck files RHP with SEBI for an IPO

▪️ Swiggy IPO oversubscribed by 3.59X, QIBs lead the charge 

▪️ CCI finds Swiggy and Zomato violated competition laws

[Conclusion]

On a weekly basis, startup funding slipped 61.72% to $138.7 million as compared to around $362 million raised during the previous week. The week saw two startup-focused fund launches namely Inflexor Ventures and Northern Arc.

The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) has witnessed significant growth, recording 14 million monthly transactions in October 2024. This marks a 7.6% increase compared to the previous month and a whopping 200% year-on-year growth. The platform’s success can be attributed to increased adoption across various sectors, including food and beverage, groceries, fashion, and mobility.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is set to meet with representatives of major quick commerce platforms like Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and Zepto to address concerns about the sale of near-expiry food items. The regulator aims to ensure that these platforms adhere to food safety standards and prevent the sale of products that are close to their expiration date.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids on offices of select sellers registered with Amazon and Flipkart in multiple cities across India. The agency is investigating potential violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) related to financial transactions on these platforms. These actions highlight the increasing scrutiny faced by e-commerce companies in India.

The Income Tax (I-T) department conducted raids at Truecaller’s Indian offices on November 7th, 2024, as part of an investigation into alleged tax evasion, including transfer pricing issues. While Truecaller has confirmed its cooperation with the authorities, the company maintains that it has always complied with Indian tax laws and received unqualified audit opinions.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has concluded that food delivery giants Swiggy and Zomato engaged in anti-competitive practices, including exclusive partnerships with certain restaurants. The CCI found that these agreements hindered competition and harmed consumers. The investigation was initiated based on a complaint filed by the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI).